


Date or Stakeout?

by Swing_and_Cinema



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, F/M, First Meetings, Mistaken Identity, POV Alternating, Skinny Steve, Steggy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-12 19:45:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16002014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swing_and_Cinema/pseuds/Swing_and_Cinema
Summary: Peggy is on a stakeout. Steve thinks that she got stood up. Hilarity ensues.





	1. Chapter 1

Steve watched the beautiful brunette sitting alone. She had been surreptitiously watching the door for several minutes now. He wondered what kind of jerk would stand her up. If Steve was lucky enough to get a woman like that to go out with him, he would arrive early. With flowers. He felt bad for her, he hated the embarrassment of being stood up. Maybe he should help her out.  
……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Peggy sighed. This was not the way that this stakeout was supposed to go. Her target was supposed to have arrived twenty-seven minutes ago. She had held off on ordering, and the staff was already beginning to give her strange looks. She did not want to go back to headquarters empty handing.  
“I’m sorry I’m late!” said a pointed to her left. She turned. It was the blond man that had been watching her. “Traffic was terrible and I didn’t have your number to let you know. Have you eaten yet?”   
This was unexpected. She wondered what had happened that this agent needed to bring her a message. Or perhaps he was backup? He was tiny, and didn’t look like he would be much use in a fight. Still she knew not to judge someone’s skill based on looks alone.  
“Oh I’m glad you made it!” she said brightly. “I don’t usually go on blind dates but Angie assured me that you were a great guy. Remind me your name again?”  
“Steve. Steve Rogers”  
…………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

Crap. She thought he was her date. Steve knew he ought to be honest with her. But the way she smiled at him made him feel dizzy. He hated to do anything that would take that smile away. He could tell her later.   
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

If “Steve Rogers”, or whatever his real name was, was trying to give her a coded message, she wasn’t picking it up. Even though their conversation was only for cover, Peggy was actually enjoying herself. It was almost a shame this wasn’t a real date.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve thought that the date was going well, all things considered. Sure he was lying about who was, but the woman’s real date was a jerk who stood her up. And Steve was going to be honest with her. Eventually. 

And he had found out her name: Wendy. That had been tricky, considering he was supposed to know that already. He was proud of himself and thought that he was doing well getting to know her.  
“So what do you do for a living?”  
…..

Agent Rogers was asking a lot of personal questions: where she lived, what she did for fun, many siblings she had. Peggy hadn’t developed this cover that much- just a name really. Maybe he was trying to say that she would need a more developed cover identity.

“Oh I work as a secretary. What do you do?”

“I’m an artist. Freelance, but I’m also trying to find something more steady.”

Aha! She could see exactly where he was going with this. 

“That’s wonderfull!” She pulled out a pen and passed it to him, along with a napkin. “I know this is only our first date but would you be willing to draw something for me?”  
...

She wanted him to draw something? Was this some kind of test of his artistic abilities? But she did say “only our first date”. He hoped that meant she was interested in him. 

It didn’t take Steve long to decide what to draw. He had been wanting to sketch her since he first saw her, He just wished her had better art supplies on hand. Steve put his pen to napkin. He’d have to redraw her at home.

…

Peggy waited as he worked. This was taking quite a bit of time. She was glad though. He must be writing a detailed message. Finally she would have some answers. Unless he was writing in code. That might take longer, but she would figure it out eventually.

She was confused when he finally passed her a sketch of herself. It was… quite good actually. Perhaps he really did have artistic training. She knew many agents who liked to add a bit of truth to their covers- they claimed it made them more believable. It still didn’t explain why he drew her though. Was he telling her that she was a target? But then why take the time to draw a portrait when he could just write it down? They were out of sight of any of the waiters or other patrons. And the security cameras couldn’t capture them at this angle. She had made sure of that.

None of this was making sense. And on the one day they sent an agent into a restaurant Erskine changed his schedule? The whole thing was very suspicious.  
…

“This is a trap.” Her eyes narrowed.

Steve wondered what he had done wrong. 

“What? No! You don’t have to like it. It’s fine, really.”

She shook her head. “You know what I mean.”

He had no idea what she meant. “Uhh.... Are you upset that I sketched you? Because I wasn’t trying to be a creep, Wendy. You were just right in front of me and I…” No that wasn’t it either. She was still glaring in a way that made him terrified. She must have figured out that he was lying about being her date.

“Who sent you.” It was more of a threat than a question. What was the name of the friend that she had said set her up? He couldn’t remember. It was time to come clean.  
…

“Okay. The truth is, nobody sent me. I’m not your date. I’m sorry. I saw that you had been stood up and I know how that feels. I didn’t realize that you never met him and I was trying to keep you from being embarrassed. I know I should have explained. I’m sorry.”

…

It wasn’t a story that Peggy had heard before. She almost had to admire his creativity. Almost.

“ I don’t know if you’re just dedicated to your cover or if trying to distract me. But I’m not interested. But you need to be straight with me right now. Who are you working for. Where is Erskine.” She reached across the table and grabbed his arm. “You have 30 seconds, or I break your wrist.”  
…

Oh my god. What the hell had he gotten himself into. He was going to die. 

“You have to believe me! I have no idea who Erskine is. I’m telling the truth.”

“Twenty-five.”

His thoughts raced.

“Listen, I don’t know if you’re a spy or with the mafia or what. But I can tell you don’t want to cause a scene. If you break my arm that will definitely draw attention.”

“I’ll claim self defense. Say that you tried to grope me. Who’s going to believe you? Fifteen seconds.”

Steve swallowed nervously.

…

Peggy really didn’t want to break the man’s arm. Not in public at least. He clearly thought she was bluffing. She wasn’t, but she really hoped he caved first.

“Ten sec-” She heard a muffled crash in the kitchen, followed by the sound of raised voices, arguing in Russian. Other patrons might dismiss is as a fight between the staff, if they noticed anything. But Peggy spoke enough Russian to catch the words “hostage” and “threat” Swearing she grab her gun from her purse and ran in that direction.

…

Steve had no idea what was going on. But he knew a fight when he heard it. Against all logic, he found himself following the woman who had just threatened him. Self preservation had never been his strong suit. 

If he survived this, Bucky was going to kill him.


	3. Chapter 3

When Peggy entered the kitchen, the six men stopped arguing. 

“Please, don’t stop on my account,” she said in her best Russian. “You’re providing valuable intel. Now I don’t suppose one of you gentlemen could tell me where Erskine is.” 

One of the men snarled something that, while not directly translatable, was definitely a curse. Another reached for his gun. Unfortunately for him, Peggy was faster. One swift punch knocked him to the ground. She pointed her gun at the next one to come after her.  
……  
Steve had no idea what was going on. First there was Russian and then there was shouting and gunshots and fists flying. He grabbed a frying pan and began swinging it wildly at anyone who came near him. Apparently he was on Wendy’s side in… whatever this was. Sure she had threatened to break his arm, but she wasn’t actively trying to kill him. Which was more than he could say for everyone else in the room.

“Duck!” she commanded. A bullet whizzed over his head.

….

“Dammit,” she said, counting the bodies on the floor. “One got away.” She looked over at Steve, who was brandishing a frying pan.

“I think I got one,” he said, wheezing.

“Congratulations,” she said dryly. “But we need to leave now. Someone’s bound to have heard that.”

“Wait..” he gasped. “...inhaler.” 

‘You have got to be kidding me.” He shook his head. Peggy sighed. “Is it at the table?” At his nod of confirmation, she dashed into the dining area. It had dissolved into chaos, but it only took a moment to spot the bright blue inhaler in the jacket pocket. She took another moment to grab her purse, with all of its supplies, and one of the table knives before running back.

“Here,” she said, shoving the inhaler into Steve’s hands. Feeling that she had lingered too long already and not wanting to wait on his breathing to improve, Peggy bent down, grabbed him around the waist and threw him over her shoulder, fireman style. She marched out the door.

…..

Steve was too surprised to protest. Even if he wasn’t, he was too out of breath to protest. He focused on bringing his inhaler to his mouth while the restaurant bounced away behind him. Briefly, he wondered whether he was being kidnapped or rescued. Or both.   
They turned suddenly and Steve was thrown into the front seat of a non-descript black car. Wendy hopped into the driver’s seat without a word. They rode in silence for a few minutes while his breathing improved. When they hit a red light, she turned to look at him. 

“You’re no agent”.

“What gave it away?” he asked, with only the slightest wheeze. “The asthma attack?”

“Well that and your complete lack of ability in a fight.” She thought for a moment and made a right turn. “So you really were telling the truth. You really thought that I had been stood up and you were trying to make me feel better. That’s rather… sweet actually. Though you were completely idiotic for following me.” He shrugged. “Why did you follow me?”

“Because you..” he trailed off. Because she needed help? That was obviously not true. Because he owed her something? No, she had threatened him. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “Bucky, my best friend, would say that its because I’m an idiot who likes to get beat up. Which I don’t,” he added quickly. “But guess its true that I’ve never learned to run away from a fight when I should.

….

Peggy was surprised to find that she could relate. Her brother, hell most people that knew her well, had always said the same of her. It was why she was in this job after all. Had she ever learned to run away from a fight, her life might have been very different. 

“So,” said Steve. “I guess this is the part where you drop me off and tell me to forget everything I’ve seen.”

“Sorry, but no. It’s more complicated than that. Now that you’re a witness, you’re a liability. I’m taking you to a safehouse for the night. We’ll figure out the rest from there.” She watched out of the corner of her eyes as he comprehended what she had said, realizing just how much trouble he was in, and wondering how his life would be different from here on out. He seemed to take it well enough. 

“Now that I’m in this for… for who knows how long, I should at least know what’s going on.” She hesitated. How much could she tell him? “Come on Wendy, I deserve that much.” She had to grin at that. 

“Well that’s one thing I can tell you, at least. Wendy’s not my real name.” He gave her a look. 

“Are you even British?”

“I am. And my name’s Peggy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented or left kudos! Honestly this was just going to be a one off thing, and I have no idea where this story is going. But I have at least one more chapter in the works.


End file.
